Last week, Steph Jarman, customer storyteller at OneSource Virtual (OSV), sat down with Darcey Parker, director of payroll and benefits at CarepathRx, to hear how she’s elevating humanity in payroll.
Managing payroll operations for an organization with thousands of employees and lots of M&A activity can be incredibly tedious and technical. And when you're caught up in the day-to-day, it’s easy to lose sight of the employees at the end of the process. But Darcey was adamant about ensuring that didn’t happen at CarepathRx. Partnering with OneSource Virtual, she set out on a journey to create an employee-first payroll strategy.
You can watch the full conversation or dive into our highlights below.
Introducing CarepathRx and Darcey Parker
Founded in 2019, CarepathRx brings together some of the nation’s leading capabilities in infusion, specialty pharmacy, telepharmacy, and technology to transform how health systems, hospitals, and pharmacies care for their patients. CarepathRx was recognized as a Top Workplace USA Awards winner in 2023.
With a workforce of 2,000 employees spread across various locations, CarepathRx faces the complex challenge of efficiently managing payroll while ensuring compliance across various state and local jurisdictions. Leading the charge in this endeavor is Darcey Parker, a seasoned professional with 25 years of experience.
Darcey Parker brought six years of prior experience partnering with OSV and Workday with her to CarepathRx. In addition to managing the daily relationship with OSV, she is a hands-on leader with the payroll and benefits process, focused on showing empathy to her employees. She also maintains tax filings, garnishments, and benefits administration in partnership with the OSV team.
Darcey’s history with OSV
When Darcey joined CarepathRx in May 2022, the organization was already partnering with OSV. In fact, it was one of the reasons why she wanted to come to work for CarepathRx. She shares, “When I started in the interview process, I actually right out of the gate said, ‘Do you use OneSource Virtual?’”
As a payroll team of one, Darcey needed to have a partner she could trust to help her get work done accurately and on time. And she felt very strongly about the relationships she had built with OSV at previous companies. “When I was working with Barings, I got to come down to Dallas and meet everyone in person. And I didn’t feel like I was just a visitor,” she says. “I actually felt like I was part of the OneSource Virtual team; that is how I want my relationship with them to be.”
How CarepathRx partners with OSV
Darcey immediately noticed that CarepathRx was not making the most of OSV’s services. While they had services in place for payroll, payroll tax, and garnishments, there was an opportunity to get more support for their small HR team.
When Darcey joined, CarepathRx mostly used OSV to distribute payments and manage treasury exceptions. By upgrading to OSV’s Managed Payroll services, Darcey was able to scale the productivity of the payroll department at CarepathRx cost-effectively. As an extension of her team, OSV now supports CarepathRx by running payroll calculations, audits, settlements, and much more, in addition to administrative tasks such as payroll reconciliation and process support.
This additional support has been invaluable to Darcey. “I may be a team of one, but with OneSource Virtual, I have a team of many, and I never have to worry about it,” she says. “I’m not missing deadlines; I’m not stressed out. The relationships that I’ve built with OneSource Virtual actually allow me the ability to go in and do so much more for CarepathRx. And that’s what’s important.”
As the benefits leader for CarepathRx as well, Darcey is hoping to once again expand her OSV partnership with benefits services. OSV offers services for benefits administration, benefit reconciliation, and COBRA and direct billing, as well as solutions to help employees manage tax-advantaged accounts.
Elevating humanity in payroll
Darcey is very passionate about providing the employees at CarepathRx with an exceptional pay experience. Being able to relieve employees' financial stress benefits not only the employees but also the customers they serve.
“These are not just employees to me. They’re an extension of me as well. I know that if my family members needed some medicine at a pharmacy, I wouldn’t want somebody to be sitting there going, ‘I don’t want to be here. I’m worried about whether or not my check’s going to be correct,’” she says. “If I can make someone’s life easier, then that’s what I’m going to do. That’s something I’ve always done throughout my life.”
Late or incorrect paychecks are unacceptable to Darcey. “Too many on-demand checks is going to drive an employee out the door,” she says. “[If I’m an employee and I have to ask to be paid] that says there’s a lack of respect and trust for the job I’m doing.” Since joining, Darcey has reduced the number of on-demand check requests by 99%.
By offering earned wage access through myFlexPay, employees now have a self-service way to access their pay between pay periods. These improved processes and features enable Darcey to end her days on time and spend her hours on the clock more effectively. “I was working 14- or 16-hour days,” she says. “And today, I can shut off my brain at five o’clock.”
What makes an OSV partnership special
Improving payroll accuracy was a high priority for Darcey when she joined the company. After CarepathRx doubled down on its OSV investment, payroll has consistently hit 100% accuracy.
“Our accuracy rate jumped, the trust level jumped,” she says. “Between my pod and I and the audits that we've put into place to get us to a 100% accuracy, that's gold to me and to our employees and to our leadership because they can focus on doing their job. They don't have to focus on, ‘Is my paycheck going to be right every other Friday?’”
The support Darcey gets from OSV makes all the difference. “Throwing something out into a call center isn’t going to get the job done,” she says, which is how support often is from other providers. OSV provides customers with a dedicated pod, including a support contact and specialists, that genuinely get to know you and your business.
“This is why my relationship with my partners at OneSource Virtual is so important to me. They’re an extension of my team. I don’t view them as a third party. I actually view them as my partner,” she says. “I know that Amanda, who is in my pod, is going to take care of me and see me all the way through to completing payroll.”
Darcey believes OSV's focused expertise on Workday and in-application services is another critical component that sets it apart as a trusted partner in the industry. “The other factor that is important to me is the fact that OneSource Virtual has such a strong relationship with Workday, that they have access to my tenant,” she says. “They’ll partner with myself, they’ll partner with my finance team, they’ll partner with our treasury to make sure that our employees are being taken care of.” That partnership and level of service delivery is not something she’s seen other providers be able to replicate.
Darcey sums it up nicely when she says, “OneSource Virtual is a big company, but it doesn’t give that big company feel. I can depend on you.”
